I talked about how passwords suck in Part 1. I found a solution that I can work with going forward, but there is a lot of preparation work that I needed to do. The solution is a piece of hardware called a Yubikey, and the prep-work I needed to do was clean up my e-mail and close all the online accounts, websites, newsletters I no longer use or really care to engage with further.

Passwords; ah, a subject of which there is much attention spent; whether in debate about the finer points of security; to how practical it is to maintain; remember; or even come to terms with all these passwords for all these sites. I recently got a "ransom message" of sorts where they showed me 3 of my passwords; and threatened to expose to all my social media my online activity and webcam footage. I did not care about others knowing my online activity and webcam footage - as I have nothing of interest and nothing incriminating or worthy of judgement that I care about. What I did care about was the fact that the three passwords they showed were my most secure ones that I keep locked away in a digital password safe!

There are a few kinds of cloud backup services, depending on how you want to back up your digital data.

• System Data Backup - This approach backs up ALL the files in your computer system, not just your digital data.  It is designed for individuals who are not computer savvy and are mainly concerned about being able to access some file(s) in the event they are unable to use their computer.  Two such services are CrashPlan and Backblaze.
• File Sync Backup - This approach creates a single place on your computer where you can place your digital data into; and it will automatically sync up with the cloud service, so that no matter where you are or what kind of computing device you have, you will have access to your digital data stored with the service.  Two such services are Dropbox and OneDrive.
• Cloud Storage Backup - This DIY approach allows you full control on what gets stored in the cloud as backup.  It is similar to using a USB flash drive or an external hard drive.  Two such services are SpiderOak and Tresorit.
• Hybrid Cloud Storage - This approach is a combination of the above three approaches.  This avenue is great if your needs require more flexibility while keeping things as simple as possible.  Two examples of such services are Bitcasa Personal Drive and CrashPlan
• DIY Cloud Storage - This is completely DIY approach, for those who are very technically savvy and are concerned about their privacy on the cloud.  There is a comprehensive article on how to set this up.

The Cloud has provided a practical and relatively painless way to have backups that are available in case your place becomes unavailable in some fashion (burned down, natural disasters, robbed, electrical outage, traveling) and having considerations like multiple versionf of your digital data.  I consider the cloud to be a viable secondary method in a backup strategy.

For a few months, I had an Internet censorship banner covering my name that was meant to grab attention to a couple pieces of legislation that went through the political circle in the early part of this year.  They were presented in a sequence:  The Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA).  The reason it was posted for so long here is because it is still ongoing.  Even though both aforementioned bills were defeated; there is an indirect, third attempt called the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) which tries to address the flow of information from the private sector to the Federal Government, which could be used to pave a way towards re-introducing another bill that is similar to SOPA and PIPA.  The Internet is one of many many topics of concern where there is political action taking place; and that these other topics also deserve attention; however given my trade, I wish to share some fantastic articles that can be used to educate ourselves about this topic.  Please find below a pair of articles on the topics.  The first article has many links to other articles that dive into further detail.  Enjoy!

Ars Technica:  SOPA Resistance Day begins at Ars

Ars Technica:  Analysis: "Cybersecurity" bill endangers privacy rights